Good Oil

Title: Good Oil 

Author Laura Buzo 

First Published: August 2010 by Allen & Unwin

Having loved Laura Buzo's new book Holier Than Thou I decided to read her other book Good Oil. I've always seen Good Oil in libraries and bookshop and the cover and title caught my eye, but i never liked the sound of the plot, i thought Amelia would be a silly, whiny, bimbo who has no thoughts except about some jerky guy. Well, i am pleased to say this is not the case.

Amelia is an angsty, clever 15 year old who's just got a part time job at her local Woolworths, which her charming 22-year-old co-worker calls the land of dreams. From her first shift with Chris she's sunk, can't get him out of her head. And how could she? he's clever, cute, he listens to her like she's an adult, they discuss everything from school, to parents, to feminism.

Chris is almost 22, single, still living at home and about to finish a degree in sociology with no job prospects other than the beloved Land of Dreams. His friends are buying houses, starting careers and getting engaged. He is searching for the perfect woman, and the perfect candidate has abandoned him and moved back to Perth.

Quick Review 

A lovely, realistic story more about friendship, family, and growing up than love. Don't worry, this is not the stereotypical story of a girl falling for an older boy and whinging about how she can't have him for 200 pages. it's a sweet, slightly quirky book which was actually very intelligent.

Oh, and you'll just love Amelia.

Favourite Quotes 

“She even takes the goings-on of fictitious characters personally.” 

Rambling Review 

My favourite thing about this book was Amelia. I just LOVED her, she was so frank and clever. In fact, she reminded me of myself a little, i think we'd get on well. She's constantly reading, thinking and turning things over in her mind. I never quite new what was going to come out of her mouth next. She was just such a gutsy character. I found it really true to life how she could be so clever and confident, and yet so self-doubting at the same time, sure in some areas, completely lost in others. 

I can also see why she liked Chris so much, he was positively charming, and Buzo captured him perfectly from both points of view. I know EXACTLY what was meant about his smile each time it was described. 

The story being told from both Amelia and Chris' point of view was a surprise, but it worked really well, it added the extra depth which really makes his novel shine. I liked how similar the characters seemed from both point of views, they saw their co-workers in a similar way. This also applies the the protagonists, I'd have hated if Chris or Amelia weren't as awesome from the other's point of view. once i realised it was multi-POV i had one major concern, and that was that Buzo would make Chris hate Amelia, it would be a completely one-sided relationship, all in Amelia's head. I was relieved to find he really liked her. it would have ruined the story if he found her a pain. Because it became a story about friendship, between the two of them, and other characters like Amelia and her mother, Amelia and Penny, and Chris and his sister.          

i also enjoyed all the literary allusions, especially when i had read the texts they were talking about, which wasn't too often. instead of seeming like the author or characters were showing off, they really added to the book. In fact, it's a great advertisement for teenagers to read classics, much better than adults going 'it's better than that junk you read'. BUT, would someone please explain to me why Amelia ans Chris said Gatsby killed himself? did i miss something when i was reading that chapter of Good Oil? 

The ending was realistic, and while not opened ended in the way Holier Than Thou is, still was left rather open. I was expecting a more dramatic ending, the book seemed to be building, but the ending did work well, and it has grown on me. I'm now glad Buzo ended it the way she did. 

All, in All a gorgeous book, rich with detail and typical Australian and teenagey things. i Loved reading it. 

in Nomes from Ink chrush's review she said 

"I think some of the best contemporary novels are the ones that don't strive to be LOUD and edgy and OMG all the time but that have the confidence to quietly bleed emotion and genuine characters on to the page."  

this is the Perfect summary. Like other Australian YA, Markus Zusak, Melina Marchetta, Randa Abdel-Fattah, Bill Condon etc, the book seems to bleed truth and emotion, but in this case in a quiet, gentle way.

Holier Than Thou

Title: Holier Than Thou
 Author: Laura Buzo
 Published: Allen & Unwin may 2012

 Holly is a young social worker who's life should be falling into place. she's just moved in with her gift-from-God boyfriend Tim, a great group of friends from high school, and a job where she gets to help change the world. the Layer of steel around her heart is beginning to tarnish. she's being drawn back to the dream boy who could have been and memories of her father, just as she's grasping for the future.

  Quick Review A brilliantly written novel, loaded with sadness, pain, and beautiful moments. it has those little touches and the humour which really make a book unforgettable. it's also very true to life. not a sweet book, some parts a quite gritty, definitely for an older YA audience. also not great for those who don't like open endings. Good for Fans of the Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta, Deadline by Chris Crutcher and My Candlelight Novel by Joanne Horniman.

  Quotes "A nurse and social worker took fifteen minutes out of their shitty thankless jobs in the roughest corner of town, sat on a couple of milk crates drinking coffee, flopped their real selves out on the cement and both liked what they saw"

"I knew that in my darker moments he wanted to reach out and soothe me somehow. He Wanted to protect me, to bathe my wounds. He's such a nurse that way. And my darker moments, my darker preoccupations we're okay with him.

 " 'what are your legs?' he asked 'steel springs' i said"

  Ramble Review
this book absorbed me from the very beginning. the writing had a certain gentle quality that worked well with the rough topics and characters. it really is quite a disillusioned book, i was realistic. there was no unbelievable happy ending, nor no massive change character in Holly. The ending was left quite open, it almost seemed to have just trailed away without giving you the last piece, but it grew on me, the more I've though about it the more i like it.

 the characters were great. they didn't seem overdone which was nice. I grew to really love Holly, in all her cynical glory. Nick was so sweet, but in a good way. it wasn't too sweet. in the same way, Tim wasn't portrayed as the typical, too perfect boyfriend. the way the characters were flawed, how you could see their mistakes and how they were changing, how you could see the relationships changing before their eyes was almost painful. it was so well done.

 Holier Than Thou is so true to life, there are moments when you wish they would give the characters a fantasy ending. But the bitter edge makes the beauty of parts all the more stunning, very much like real life. My only real complaint is that i wish i knew what happened next! grrrr :)

Pan's Whisper

Welcome to Pan's Whisper day. let's kick it off with a review.

Title: Pan's Whisper
Author: Sue Lawson
First Published: 2011 by Black Dog Books

Pan Harper is angry. she's been placed in foster care, and is mad at her mum and older sister. she is sure she knows her life story better than anyone. but does she? memory is a tricky thing. then she meets her foster family, teachers, and most importantly Hunter. is he worth breaking her most important rule, Never Trust Anyone?

Quick Review
Pan's Whisper is a story of family and friends. Pan may be angry, but you can't help but like her. the more of her story you learn, the more you respect her, even as she makes mistakes over and over again. Sue Lawson once again has created an emotional rollercoster of a story which is amazingly true to life.

Quotes
know where i am? right in the heart of legoland, living with plastics and going to a school filled with spastics. why? because of You. Pan- page 37

"come on Panda, we have to get to Grady's before the hairy-nosed, boogie-bummed bunyip catches us." Kylie stomped up the hall..."get back here now"- page 95/96

i grab the 1st harry potter book and settle into read. Sure I've read it 1000 times but there's something comforting about the familiarity of the characters- page 236

babble
Pan's Whisper is told in three forms. most of the story is in 1st person from Pan's point pf view, but the story is also told in letters to Morgan and in memories from Morgan. they link together in little groups to tell the story. you slowly build a picture of what actually happened, as pan does. it's really clever. it builds suspense also me and you get to know Morgan.

they characters are fabulous. you don't really meet Morgan, or Grandy or Kylie but you know them really well, which i think is quite an achievement. in building them up you really get in Pan's head. the new people she meets, like hunter, Ari and her foster family were good characters, but i would have liked to get to know them even more, but you got their background story, which really added to the story.

over all i really enjoyed Pan's Whisper, and would definitely recommend it to anyone.

luckily for all you Perth readers a copy is going to be up for grabs on Perth YA Fans Unite very soon. so follow us to be eligible to enter.

The Friendship Matchmaker

Title: The Friendship Matchmaker
Author: Randa Abdel-Fattah
First Published: Scholastic 2011

Lara Zany in Potts Court Primary's 'Official Friendship Matchmaker'. she is writer of the Friendship Rules-which she is certain work, all friendships are approved by her and people come to her to sort out all their fights. she can take the Loneliest Loser and find them a best friend. Then Emily Wong turns up on the first day of 2nd term and disagrees to conform, why should she have to eat cheese sandwiches instead of meatballs for lunch? why shouldn't she paint her nails in different colours? Lara's rules are about to be put to the test.

Quick Review
a brilliant book for girls of about the age of nine. a nice reminder of how special friendship is, how it works and the importance of being yourself. it's simply written, with a big font, only about 170 pages with lists of rules from Lara's Friendship Manual.

Quote
She was obviously in the mood for looking like a zebra: black & white striped t-shirt, black skirt with a thick white hem, black headband and white hair tie, and one black and one white earring. Plus black runners and white socks. "is it international Save the Zebra Day?" i asked.
she smoothed and her skirt. "Thanks" she said enthusiastically "i do look great"
What Cheek!

Babble
i enjoyed the friendship matchmaker, though it's clearly meant for a younger audience. though it's clearly bad the way Lara encourages people to completely change who they are to make friends you understand why she does it. it's clear there's a story behind it. this is a laboured point from the beginning, i found it to be a bit too obvious, which would be fine for nine year olds. the back story of Lara comes out at the end, but it was a bit rushed.

Emily's a great character i loved hearing about her ideas and clothes. she has a shirt, but i won't ruin the surprise :) she's also kind, and smart and determined to be true to herself and unique.
Lara's lovely to because behind her rules is actually a desire for everyone to have a best friend, she just isn't sure how to go about it.
it also has a cute cover ans swirls and stars throughout the book.
best of all i think there's going to be a sequel

Straight Line to my Heart

title: straight line to my heart
author: Bill Condon
Published: to be published August 2011

Tiff and Kayla have finished school, they know things are about to change. the summer is coming to an end, and decisions are being made about the future and in one week everything is going to change. Tiff has a cadetship at the local news paper, but her boss is a crazy old man who insists everyone calls him 'the shark'. her grandad Reggie seems to be fading away, her uncle/brother Bull's girlfriend is around, her and Kayla can't stay in this small town forever, what will happen once they leave, and most importantly there's a boy who seems to be interested in Tiff. in one week Tiff's world crashes down and she builds it up again stronger than before.

Quick Review Straight Line to my Heart is a great novel. Bill Condon really hits what it's like to be a teenager on the head. without any melo-drama or soppy romance he's created a light-hearted novel all about the massive changes that occur once school finishes forever and first love. add in the great humour, and interesting characters and you've got a clear winner. i was up all night giggling while i finished it.

favourite quotes
"she could help me in my never-ending campaign. some people want to save the river or save the whales, or even save the whole planet-i just want to keep the toilet seat down" the whole book is full of funny lines like this.

Babbling Review
Bill Condon has an incredible style which doesn't fit a genre, it just seems like a real story. the characters are flawed, every character has a different personality. the blokes, Reggie and Bull, are typical Aussie blokes. the love footy, beer, action films and burping, yet they're sweet and kind.

the setting of Gungee creek is also full of character, and well characters! it's a typical town. the thing that got me was the description of footy on the weekends, it just seemed so familiar. everyone cheering, even though they play terribly. it turned out to be rugby as opposed to AFL, which is footy in Perth, but the atmosphere was the same. for us who live in Australia it'll be so familiar that you'll be laughing going 'that;s so true' and to others it'll be just as enjoyable.

i loved Kayla and Tiff's friendship. best friends since they were very young. there was very little talk, just silliness and closeness. they weren't always lovely to each other, but it was so honest.

the romance element in this novel is quite small, but important. he's an idiot, tiff admits he an idiot, but they like each other anyway. it's all awkward, yet sweet moments. it ends just leaving you wondering where it would go.

the humour is also genius. it's a simple, lovely funny novel. a perfect light read dealing some important teenage issues.

The Diary of a Would-Be Princess

I've decided to do a series review of The Diary of a Would-Be Princess series, now published just as books 1 to 3. the first to were published as Diary of a would be princess and a Tyranny of Toads, but with the release of the third book this year they have been reprinted and just named books one to three.




This series is aimed at girls of about 9-12. i read the first two books when i was 10 and really loved them, so when i spotted the third in the library last week i grabbed it, and I'll admit i still love Jillian James as much as when i met her when we were both in year 5. these are about the average life of an Australian school girl pretty much, but they're hilarious and interesting. Jillian always struggles with making and keeping friends, and excepting her self in her current situation. the moment she gets things sorted the next year seems to rush in with new challenges. she says in the second book "last year i got in trouble for not compromising enough, now I'm in trouble for compromising too much!" that's an annotated quote because i donated my copy to the local library and can't check the exact quote. every year has adventures and surprises, like the dreaded sports carnival, new teachers, new students, homework, horrible brothers, unfair parents and always a happy ending at the end on the school year. it's hard to explain all 3 books, but that's the best can do. search the titles and you can get good blurbs.

these books start with Jillian in year 5 with the lovely Mrs Bright having to start a journal. the book is scattered with comments by Mrs bright, it's such a nice touch. in the 2nd book, sometimes called a Tyranny of Toads Jillian is in year 6 with the terrifying Mr Rose and her diary is kept carefully at home hidden in her undies draw, as all girls do with their precious things (i swear, i actually do). their are no teacher comments this year, instead her older brother Richard leaves her sticky notes, which get stuck in. in the most recent, third diary Jillian is starting high school, and it's an exciting year. this year Richard leaves her famous, inspiration quotes from a calender he received for Christmas, usually cleverly annotated to annoy his little sister.

Jillian is another of my favourite characters. she's so clever, funny and insightful. i challenge you not to love her. in my last review i talked about how i couldn't believe Cameron Wolfe from Fighting Ruben Wolfe wasn't real, i feel the same way about Jillian.she's so perfectly flawed, always solving her problems, and causing more. I wish she was my best friend, we'd get along so well. her insight makes this a great book for mothers to share with their daughters. Diary of a Would-Be is not yet another, shallow, sugar-coated book, it's a good read, with character development. i was a bit too old for the 3rd book, it really is not the under 12s, but i could understand exactly what Jillian was feeling, and apply parts of it to year 10.all three book are filled with quotes from famous people, books and plays, like hamlet and Buddha, and new words like scapegoat. this is the perfect book for girls about 9-12, funny, interesting, with a happy ending.
honestly, these series is one of my favourites in case you haven't guessed, though all you lovely readers are a tad too old :)

sorry this post is such a mess, i ramble a lot. I'm working on it.

Dare You

Title: Dare You
Author: Sue Lawson
First Published: 2010 by black dog books

for those of you have been hanging around this blog for a while you'll know that i love Sue Lawson's novels, so you would guess that when i walked into the school library for a reading period and discovered this little gem on the bookshelf i was extremely happy. this was before I'd even started reading.

Dare You is the story of a childhood friendship that starts to fall apart as Sas, Ruby and Kahden reach the middle of high school. they'd been best friends since the beginning of kindy, they've never known it any other way. Now though, with summer holidays around the corner, all there little problems are coming to light. the girls bickering and competing is reaching a dangerous point and Kahden and Sas are starting to think of each other very differently, but they can't let go. so they cling to their childhood games, but they aren't little kids anymore so the rules start to change. it starts to get scary. each of out main characters has their own secrets and problems hidden away, in usual Lawson style, which are making things tense and come to head at a critical moment.

the story is divided up into chapters from all three of our characters, Ruby's in first person, Sas' in first person diary style, and Kahden's in third person. i thought it worked quite well and though i had a favourite character, i LOVE Kahden, it didn't affect my reading of the story and it was nothing to do with the quality of the writing. there were moments where i wanted to grab Sas and Ruby and yell at them, because they were so believable. i felt the language was spot on, I'm about the age of the characters and it was the way i would speak or write. I'll admit i did sometimes find myself checking which character was supposed to be narrating because i was confused, but this is a common occurrence for me once we get 3 or so characters. i really thought the characters were fantastic. though we don't know much about the parents, you feel their side of the story as well, which is true to life and really nice to read.

one thing to know about this book, DON'T be tempted to flick through. i found myself wanting to know what happened next and flipping forward. this was a mistake because Lawson starts her chapters with sentences about Major events. i was unlucky and flipped to the chapter with i very informative start and regretted it for the rest of the book.

the only significant problem i had was with the ending, I'll try my best to keep this spoiler free.
there is a Massive event towards the very end and then the ending seemed to go very fast. i felt a bit cheated almost. i don't think this big event was a cop out, so she wouldn't have to solve the friendship problems. i would have liked to read a bit more either before the big event or after it, just to see that everything was resolved properly. it might have just been me, I'd really like to hear what you think. keep that in mind if you every read Dare You. i strongly recommend you do.

Jarvis 24

title: Jarvis 24
author: David Metzenthen
published: penguin

i actually read this a few weeks ago, but somehow never got round to reviewing it. Jarvis 24 has been a big award winner in Australia this year taking gold in the children's book council, and i gotta agree that it deserves it. it really enjoyed it.

Marc Jarvis has to do work experience, it's either that or spend a week in the school library doing assignments. as he walks past the local second hand car yard he decides to see if they'd let him work there for the week. only partly inspired by the beautiful girl walking out of the gate. from here the story unfolds. new and old friends and relationships.

this book kept me up all night, just because i couldn't bring myself to put it down. I'd also like to say that thanks to David metzenthen everyone who was near me while i was reading this book thinks I'm crazy because i couldn't help but laugh out loud.
i also loved reading from what seemed a typical guy, because it's rare in a non-adventure, sport, action book to have a main protagonist, especially one as realistic at Marc Jarvis.

over all i thought this book had a great, gentle ending, but there was one thing i was left wondering and i actually looked for a way to contact the author so i could ask him, unfortunately i couldn't. apart from that i loved the whole book.

So Much to Tell You

Title: So Much to Tell You
Author: John Marsden
First Published: 1987 by Walter McVitty Books

So Much to Tell You is the incredible diary of a 14 year old girl sent to boarding school and her family life explodeds. there is one thing making her diffferent from every other girl in the school, she doesn't speak.

slowly through her diary enteries we learn all about her, she didn't plain to put all her secrets into this diary but once she started she couldn't help herself. once she started she couldn't stop. over the course of the novel she slowly starts to be herself again, still silent, but with some patience and kindness from a few other people she starts getting there. slowly.

not only do we learn all about her feelings and her life, we get her insightful observations of the people around her, some of which no one but the silent girl would notice. i loved how she learnt that she wasn't the onlt person feeling things. through English, with her awesome teacher the girls learn that lots of other people are feeling things like they are. it was a great reminder for me.

my faveourite thing was that we didn't find out her name until the last page. i felt is very symbolic, like she had finally found herself in all the mess and put herself back together.

i think that everybody should read this book, it's reallu sticks with you, especiaaly because it is based on a true story. if you are not convinved it's written by the man who wrote Tomorrow When the War began. in my opinion it's even better.

Juice

Title: Juice
Author: Katy Watson
First Published: 2000 by Fremantle Press

Juice wants to be an Australian sprinter and she thinks she's got what it takes, the Body, the determination, support and her crazy new coach Wiz. soon though, everything is changing. Juice's head is spinning, she thought that she was just changing coaches so she'd become the best 100m sprinter around, but that was just the start. Soon she's crushing on her running partner, who seems to have issues of his own, her best friend seems to have been replaced by an alien, her Gran is moving to sydney and her family is changing completely.

this book is prequel to Mama's Trippin' , but saying that you can read them in any order because there is no necessary information in one for the other and they have different Protagonists.

there are some Big difference between how the two books are written, which i wasn't expecting. Juice is written in 1st person all from Juice's Point of view, while Mama's Trippin' is written in 3rd person from multiple points of view. Mama's Trippin' definitely had more serious themes, but both books i really liked.

my favourite thing about this book was that it was set it Perth, which is a rare treat for me, because it's my city and i knew the places they were talking about and other details just seemed so right to me.

the other thing i loved was the characters, they were so realistic. the way Juice thinks about things, especially her parents, her body and boys was, in my opinion, was really like in my own head. every character had flaws and not silly little things, but there were moments i wanted to yell "you idiot Juice, don't say that! she your best friend" i felt i knew each one.

that brings me to the first thing i didn't like. i felt that the book could have been longer, the ending wasn't rushed, but i felt it could have been stretched out a little further. i also was hoping that Von's feelings about his diabetes would be explored more, because in mama's trippin' i felt I'd like to know more and thought it would be in Juice, but i was a little disappointed, but it was explored.
my only over problem is I'm not sure how well the end of Juice over laps with the start of Mama's Trippin', I'm not sure if they match.

i really liked this book. a simple, yet great read.

The Running Man

Title: The Running Man
Author: Michael Gerard Bauer
First Published: in 2004 by scholastic

Joseph is a quiet, shy boy who lives with his mother, while his father does construction work in far away countries. this story begins when Joseph is asked to mow the Leyton's lawn. Caroline Leyton convinces him to paint a portrait of her brother tom, a reclusive Vietnam war veteran. a very special relationship forms over silkworms, books and secrets. but their can be problems of relationships built on secrets, what happens if someone else says different, who do you trust? Tom and Joseph give each other just what they've needed for a long time.

i love, Love, LOVE this book. i have no criticism, i thought it was perfect. it was perfectly paced, i was hooked from very early in and read it all one Friday night. this is quite a philosophical book, so i was very surprised to find that it was so suspenseful and interesting. most books that are about thoughts, feelings, relationships and life in general usually have a relaxing pace, but The Running Man is quite eventful.

like i said, this book is very philosophical. it talks about life, death, views on life, perspective, judgement of others and even miracles. i learnt so much from just reading it. The Running Man is the kind of book you feeling happy and hopeful after reading, it just sticks in your mind.

i feel i haven't done this book justice in my review, i highly recommend reading it. please give it a go.

With Lots of Love from Georgia

Georgia is a 15 year old girl who would die to get to the natural affinity concert and meet Jakob. to do this she has to save up 500 dollars. Georgia is very mixed up, she loves her best friend, but it isn't quite right. she loves her mum but why does she always think she's right. she loves food, but why does it have to make you fat.

things are changing fast in Georgia's life and she's caught up in a whirlwind she can't control and is left feeling lost and lonely. but in the end, everything leads to something good. sometimes we just have to wait and see what comes next.

like always Brigid Lowry has written a beautiful book, not in the collage style of Guitar Highway Rose, but it is scattered with lists written by Georgia herself. I didn't like this novel as much as Guitar Highway Rose or Tomorrow All Will be Beautiful, but it was still a great read, once again Brigid Lowry has captured the confusion of being a teenager. suddenly your diving into an adult world, your parents no longer holding you up. you're realising that maybe you're a better swimmer anyway, but still you might not be ready to let go.

a beautiful book, read it.

Allie Mcgregor's True colours

title:Allie Mcgregor's True colours
Aurthur: Sue Lawson
First Published: 2006 by Black Dog Books
Pages:218

Allie has her fair share of problems. she is sharing a room with her 6 year old sister because they're having renovations, is trying to fit in at school and is now being called the hormonal one by her Dad on his radio show, which basically everyone in town listens to. oh, and her Mum has cancer. Poor Allie's life is spinning out of control, but slowly Allie learns all about good friends, courage and how to important it is to talk. after a few major mishaps.

As always Sue Lawson has Given as a believable character. Allie is constantly in a Bad mood and earned herself the name 'The Hormonal One', but as her 6 year old sister reminds everyone, she just sad about Mum like me. Allie is trying so hard to ignore the fact that her mum is sick that she can't see what's in front of her. she accuses her best friend of being jealous and finds herself with a bunch of bitches who all where they're hair the same way. i thought that Allie's hair was a brilliant metaphor and i have never would have thought how girls wear would be so clever.

i think this book isn't as good as her other books Finding Darcy and After, but i think it is directed at a slightly younger audience. over all i think she did a good job talking about a common but scary issue. i love how it related into the Cyndi Lauper song True Colours, which is a beautiful song.

click here for the original

and here's the Glee version

Guitar Highway Rose

Title: Guitar Highway Rose

Author: Brigid Lowry

Publisher: Allen & Unwin 1997

My name is Rosie E Moon. I am fifteen years old. My star sign is Aries on the cusp with Pieces, which is why I am a creative warrior-woman from Mars who loves to swim.

Rosie is bored and anxious. She wants a nose ring, to stop fighting with her mother and for her parents to give her space and trust.

One day she meets Asher. Asher, the former gypsy boy with funky clothes and dreadlocks. Asher, with the guitar and the attitude. Who just wants to get away, his head exploding with homesickness and the need to clear his head. . .

I'm thinking of taking off again.

Asher.

What?

I want to come with you.

Exactly how it says on the blurb: Sometimes we know we shouldn't and that's exactly why we do.

This is such an amazing book. Not only is the story wonderful and the characters believable, but the way the book is written is simply...wow. Little bits of what the characters are thinking, conversations, room descriptions, dreams, etc. all written beautifully with juicy words. Loved it.

I Lost my Mobile at the Mall

Title:I Lost my Mobile at the Mall
Author: Wendy Harmer
First Published: 2009 by random house Australia
Pages: 319

this book is awesome!
at first i thought i wasn't going to love it. you know, OK but not great. but quickly i got to know our main character elly, how she loves words and worries . i kept reading and not only had she lost her mobile, she had a broken heart, no computer, lots of confusing thoughts about society. and a few other problems to tackle. her lack of technology for 2 weeks really changed the way she saw everything.

i love how realistic this book was and how interesting the characters were, her boyfriend defiantly wasn't what i expected. my favourite thing was its take on just how connected we are now compaired to any other time, even though maybe we're less in-touch than we think. also the minor view on cyber bullying that came with it.
when Elly searched cyber bullying this came up " like drinking and driving, emotions and the internet don't mix. Don't react or you could end up being a cyberbully yourself" which reminds me what goes on online is not the same as is in real, saying something is going to come across differently than if you read it.

i also love all the quotes scattered through the book from jane eyre and websites. a very nice touch.

Secret Friends' Stuff

title: Secret Friends' Stuff
Aurthur: Margaret Clark
first published: 2006 by random house Australia
pages:281

Secret Friends Stuff is very like Letters to Cathy. it's advice given by Margaret to girls who write to her for help. she give great advice (i have experience) through emails and letters. she also writes about her own experiences at a teenager and gives us segments of her old diaries. it's split into five sections to help you find what you're looking for: Friends, more about friends, more and more about friends, boy friends and more about boyfriends. the book is written in a really personal and funny way, Margaret could be right there telling you the advice. in fact it's really like you're getting help from a friend. except for the fact that she a lot smarter than my friends when it comes to boys.

the only thing i dislike about this book is how hard it would be to find certain advice if you were looking for it. it would be useful to have a more specific contents or an index. i know there are lots of non-fiction books on the topic for girls, but i think this one is the best! it makes an interesting read even if you don't want help because it's cool to see how different people deal with different situations.

its short review because i can't really talk about a plot or anything.

finding darcy

title: finding Darcey
Aurthur: sue Lawson
first published: 2008 by black dog press

finding Darcy by sue Lawson is the best book in a long time. i couldn't put it down which is what I've been looking for all holiday. Darcy is living with her gran(misery) and her great gran or Grandma(batty). her SOSE teacher the newt or Mr newton has set an assignment about WWII which is a taboo topic in her family, if she mentions it she's more likely to get shot than an interview. the more research she does into her great grand father the harder it is to ignore the elephants sitting the corners of her grans perfectly clean house.

the thing that makes this book sing is how realistic it is, especially Darcy. you couldn't get a more realistic picture of a teenager(my opinion) she is very confused and wants answers and information, she can sulk, lose her temper(i do both of those a lot) and faces bullies. i really love this story and it makes me wonder about my own family history. my only problems with this book is if you're not paying full attention you might get a little confused and that you may need google, a good encyclopedia or someone with a bit of knowledge about australia in WWII.

i'm off to watch 27 dresses and do a little WWII and family research. do you guys have any cool family war stories?

Tomorrow all will be beautiful

Title:tomorrow all will be beautiful
written by: Brigid lowry
first published: 2007 by allen and unwin

tomorrow all will be beautiful reminded me of warm afternoons talking with my friends and those family stories you know so well yet love to hear again. it showed the glorious belief that we can always find a little good. this books is a collection of short stories and poems done in a collage style, differnt story types and picture in the background.

some of the stories envolve some very sad stuff and there is quite a few mentions of depresion but it left me feeling alive, full of fun and wonder. i was dreaming and playing with a peacock feather. then when for a walk alone matilda bay.

i thought it was a very nice book and i discovered that you can publish short stories and that they can be in all different formats.

it's an odd book to review for me because i can't say what it was about because there was no main story line but for me it show why life should sparkle because there is always a bead of hope if you look.

this doesn't relate to tomorrow all will be beautiful but, i would love some suggestions for our blog and opinions. What would make it better and make people comment?

thanks. remember to look for that little bit of good. where'd you find it?

Once

Title: Once

Author: Morris Gleitzman

First Published: 2005 by i don't have time to find out who :D

'Once I was living in an orphanage in the mountains and I shouldn't have been and I almost caused a riot. It was because of the carrot.'

Felix is a Jewish boy living in an orphanage in 1942. His parents were Jewish booksellers, and once they all lived together in a cosy house with carrot soup for dinner. But then things start to get hard, and his parents leave Felix at the Catholic orphanage with only a small suitcase, a few books and a creamy white notebook, and promise to come back for him when stuff gets sorted out.

But then one day, the Nazis came ad burned the Jewish books. Felix thought that his parent's book are in trouble, so he ran away hoping to help. Everything was going fine until Felix realises that it's not only the books that the Nazis want and hate, preferably dead...

Together with Zelda, he sets out on a search for his parents and finding himself in more trouble than ever...

This was a truly fabulous book, so sad though. Felix just sounds so honest and innocent, sometimes you just wish his parents would pop up and give him a hug. Until you find out the truth...

I loved all the characters, mainly Mother Minka and Zelda and Felix and Barney. You'll see why. Also, BING BING GOOD NEWS ONCE AND THEN FANS!!! Morris Gleitzman decided to write another sequel to these books called 'Now' (are you psychic or something Anna???). It will be out in 2010, can't wait!!!

Annabel, Again

Title: Annabel, Again
Aurthur: meg mckinlay
first published: 2007 by walker books australia

Annabel, Again is a cathy cassidy, jaquline wilson genre book, but without the drama and in my opinon better than jacqueline wilson. this book, set in australia envolving 'the sun', stalker crows and some physco chickens is very funny. it's has the kind of jokes my friends and i make all the time.

annabel and livvy have been best friends since elephants brought them together in kindy, not only have they been best friends they were each others only friends. so what happens when annabel has to leave livvy and move to the other side of australia? well according to livvy's mum it's time to move on. livvy throws herself into things to forget and life keeps going on around her. then annabel moves back, things can be the way they were before, but what happens if annabel doesn't want just to slip back into her life with livvy?

this is a great book, a bit easy and writen by a lady my dad works with. i have a signed copy. it says: always keep an eye out for secret tortoises!